All US Domestic Flights Grounded Due to FAA Key System Shutdown • TechCrunch

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Cross-US flights, including potentially all those flying through any internal US airspace, were delayed this morning as a major system outage means the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) cannot issue key distress alerts to commercial pilots. The FAA says it is working to resolve the issue, but the widespread impact continues as of early Wednesday morning.

The agency said via Twitter shortly before 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday that it was “working on restoring its Air Mission Systems Alert” (aka NOTAM) — an alert that came after many passengers were already reporting delays to their flights at airports across the country. The Air Mission Alert System provides key real-time updates on potential flight hazards, as well as any airspace restrictions in place.

Flights across the country appear to be stalled as they wait for the system to come back online. United confirmed it had “temporarily delayed all domestic flights” pending further updates from the FAA. International flights into the country are also being affected, according to user reports via social media. The agency said via its account that it has ordered airlines to suspend all their domestic flights until 9 a.m. ET, as it works “to validate the integrity of flight and safety information” after previously noting which has begun to bring elements of the system back online.

The FAA issued a failure notice for the system early Wednesday, though no cause has been provided so far. The White House says President Biden has been briefed on the situation and there is currently “no evidence of a cyber attack.”

According to the FAA, “all flights currently in the sky can land safely,” despite the problems and continued attempts to fix the problem. It also reported that it is “making progress” to reinstate NOTAMs and that departures have already resumed at two airports, Newark and Atlanta, with others expected to resume as of 9 a.m. ET.

Update 9:29 AM ET: The FAA now says normal operations are resuming and the flight shutdown has officially been lifted at 8:50 AM ET. He has yet to reveal any details about the lawsuit, but says he is looking into the matter.

This story is developing…

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